Summer of Friendship
by Jaiaelle
Summary: Four short stories that detail the friendships of select glee club members.  Takes place between seasons 1 and 2.  Certain parts are based off spoilers.
1. One with Master Chief

_Author's Note: This is a story that takes place between seasons 1 and 2 of glee, during the summer. Each installment will be fairly short. Please forgive any mistakes and don't forget to read & review!_

_**Warning: Parts of this are based on spoilers I've read about S2.**_

**____****One with Master Chief**

Day 39

The two had melded and become one. It was as if he was not just pressing buttons but was actually Master Chief, shooting the weapons, with deadly accuracy, at the ugly alien foes. He was barely even taking time to eat. Halo Reach would hitting the stores in a matter of months and by then, he would be a champion Halo gamer. Except he kind of sucked and kept dying. It seemed as if he, Artie Abrams, would never even finish a level of Halo. Sighing, he paused the game to take a drink of water, glancing at his phone, hoping to see a text message. Nothing.

Rolling back, Artie grabbed at the Halo gaming book he had asked his mom to purchase several weeks ago, flipping through the pages. He wasn't even sure how the Halo obsession had started, considering he had never been interested in the game before. But he had seen the Halo Reach preview and just HAD to finish all the games that had come before it. Then he would be ready. He had even bought some of the books based on the game but didn't have any time at all to read those. The stupid third game in the series was proving to be difficult and he simply couldn't get past this particular level. He was about to throw his controller across the room in frustration when a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Arthur," came his mother's voice. "You have a visitor."

Pausing the game again, Artie faced the door, a little embarrassed that he was wearing only his boxers and a white t-shirt but it wasn't as if Tina hadn't seen him like that before. Because he was really hoping it was her. The last time she had made any sort of contact with him had been through a text message. It had read_, Artie, I can't do this anymore_. He had attempted to call her and text her but to no avail. He was uncertain as to whether they were together or not. He tried not to think about it and threw himself more into the game.

Or it could be Kurt, who came over on occasion to try to give him fashion advice…or something. Artie hardly paid attention to anything the other boy said.

Surprise came when it was neither of those two but, rather, Quinn Fabray who stepped through the door, smoothing the skirt of her white sundress with one hand and sliding her sunglasses higher on her head with the other.

"Hey, Artie," she said, eyes roving over his attire.

Coloring more than a little, he stammered, "H-hey Quinn. Um, what are you doing here?" The question sounded sort of rude but he stopped himself just sort of adding on to it since he felt completely justified in asking it. The two of them barely spoke so her presence there made little sense.

"I was in the neighborhood…" Trailing off, she moved through his room to his bed, sitting on the edge, her back very straight.

It was clearly not the whole truth. "You just decided to stop by my house? Because we're the best of friends…"

She chuckled at the sarcasm in his tone. "The truth is…my dad asked me to come over for dinner and I didn't want to. I told him I was going to a friends and I really was in the neighborhood so I stopped here."

Something was still missing from the explanation. "Mercedes lives a couple of blocks over and you two are friends."

Arching an eyebrow, Quinn seemed unsure whether to be amused or frustrated. Finally, she shrugged, in a show of indifference. "I was coming from her house but didn't want to go back. I didn't feel like talking about…stuff."

That made sense. Mercedes would've wanted to discuss it to death, Artie was sure. "Oh."

Smiling, Quinn glanced at his TV. "Exactly why I came here," she muttered, under her breath, though Artie heard it. Louder, she said, "This is a hard level. Can I?" she asked, gesturing toward the controller.

"Uh, yeah," Artie responded, handing the controller over to her, eyeing her curiously.

Taking the controller from him, Quinn bit down on her bottom lip and took the game off pause, pressing the buttons, eyes fixed on the screen.

At first, he was too focused on her to pay attention to the game but then he slowly shifted his attention to see that she had advanced well into the level. In a matter of minutes, she had completed it, without even re-spawning once. "What-how-you just…" Incredulous, he looked at her, mouth and eyes both round.

She lifted on shoulder up, in a half shrug. "I dated both Puck and Finn, who loved this game. I was totally better than both of them."

_Hot, _was Artie's first thought. Out loud, he said, "Cool." Waiting for a sort of awkwardness to settle over them, Artie slumped in his chair, eyes anywhere but on her. The awkwardness, however, didn't come. He actually felt comfortable with her there, even being in his boxers, which was sort of weird. "So…you're missing dinner. Hungry? We could get something to eat…"

Softly smiling, she nodded. "That'd be nice. Um…you can get dressed and then we can meet in the living room? I love that pizza place down the street." Standing, she smiled once more, than exited his room.

Blinking several times, Artie processed what had just happened. Quinn hadn't even asked and she was taking him away from the game. But…she had gotten him past the level. He supposed he owed her. And it would be nice to get out of the house, maybe get to know Quinn Fabray just a little bit. Quickly dressing, he only checked to make sure the game had saved before exiting his room and, for the first time that summer, leaving Master Chief behind, becoming only Artie once again.


	2. First Meeting

_Author's Note: Part two! Please read & review, thanks! _

_**First Meeting**_

Day 13

It was unimaginable to her that people considered the break from school to also be a break from glee club. She had tried to get them to understand how important it was that they continue to meet at least once a week, to not only improve upon skill sets necessary for placing in next year's regional's but also to develop the sense of togetherness as a team, which had been slowly growing and only needed to be cultivated more. However, not one of her fellow glee teammates had seen it that way and had refused to acknowledge the schedule she had made for the "Summer of Glee," as she had referred to it.

"Quit being so Rachel Berry-ish and just let us enjoy the summer," Artie had told her, making her wonder when her name had become an adjective of it's own. When everyone else had nodded in agreement at his words, her heart had sunk within her chest.

Seeing her disappointment, Finn had reluctantly agreed to attend but she knew that he had only because he felt it was his obligation as her boyfriend.

Boyfriend. He was her boyfriend.

Grinning, Rachel clutched her purple folder to her chest as she sat alone in McKinley High's music room, thinking of her very tall and very wonderful boyfriend. She had waited so long for them to be together and her dream had finally come true. Not that the reality was in anyway like the dream but that was beside the point. Sighing, she lowered the folder pulling out a music sheet, glancing over the song selections for that day. One was by Journey, Finn's favorite group. Her eyes skimmed over the words, her lips silently mouthing the words.

After several minutes, she glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was half past three. Finn was over fifteen minutes later. She was frustrated but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. And, anyway, it was the first meeting of the summer. Still, perhaps she should call him. She was pulling out her phone, prepared to hit his speed dial number, when the door was pushed open and in came -

- Noah Puckerman.

Frowning, Rachel stood to her feet, observing him for several minutes before addressing him. He had one hand in his pocket, was slouching and had one eyebrow ever so slightly raised. Thoughthe had to have known she'd be there, he appeared puzzled. "What are you doing here?" she asked at long last.

"Uh," he replied, his voice quiet. "Isn't this where the summer glee meetings are taking place?"

It took her a moment to fully comprehend his meaning but when she did, a huge grin broke out on her face. "Why, yes, Noah, yes it is! I…I didn't expect anyone but Finn to show up."

Immediately on his guard, as Noah and Finn were not yet on the best of terms, Noah's eyes darted around the room. "Finn? Don't see him."

Shifting, Rachel cast her eyes downward. "He has not shown up yet. He's running late." Lifting her head, she met Noah's eyes,. "He'll be here soon."

"Right," Noah responded, taking a couple steps forward to a chair and sitting.

Still taken off guard by his presence, and the strange emotions that being in his presence produced, emotions typical when around him, Rachel slowly lowered herself back onto the piano bench, taking a few slow, steadying breaths. "How has your summer been so far? Have you been…been spending much time with Quinn?" She felt ill even asking about his relationship with Quinn, though she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why and never would, as she chose not to closely examine the question.

He furrowed his brow, then asked, "What? Quinn? Nah, haven't seen her since the last day of school."

"Oh, that's…" Swallowing, Rachel tried to figure out what it was, ignoring the hopeful bubbling in her stomach. "I thought you two were dating."

"Quinn and I…we tried that. Didn't work. Don't make much sense."

Rachel was inclined to agree but didn't say that. "It doesn't make much sense," she corrected his grammar.

"What I said."

Deciding not to explain what she had meant, Rachel shut her mouth and the two lapsed into a strange silence that was almost suffocating. As if there existed between them unspoken somethings which neither dared to utter. Just when she was at the point of breaking, Finn came in, grinning goofily once he spotted Rachel. "Finn!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and bounding to his side. Grasping the front of his shirt, she pulled him down for a quick kiss, not hearing Noah's grunt of disgust from behind her.

"Rachel!" Leaning down, he kissed her once more but Rachel broke it quickly.

"And Noah."

Finn's eyes shifted to the other person in the room, who he had not yet noticed. "Puck."

Rachel turned around to face him, feeling Finn's large hands slide down her back and come to rest on her waist. "Since there are three of us, perhaps the best song to -"

Noah's loud ring tone interrupted her in the middle of her suggestion and he answered, which Rachel thought to be rude. "Sup Santana." Bristling, Rachel strained to hear the other side of the conversation. "Not a lot…right now?…I guess…yeah, whatever, be there in five." Hanging up, his eyes met Rachel's, his even gaze unnerving her. It was as if he was probing her with his eyes, waiting for her to speak up, to ask him not to leave and maybe, just maybe, ask him something more. "Gotta meet Santana," he said at last, spinning on his heel and exiting before Rachel could protest his words.

Biting down on her lip, Rachel watched him, blinking rapidly, trying to process. Her thoughts were still tumbled in her mind when Noah popped his head back in the room.

"Be here next week."

"That's wonderful, Noah," she called out before he could leave again, presumably to go hook up with Santana. "Developing upon certain friendships will be good for -"

"Right," Noah cut her off. "Bye."

And then he was gone, really gone this time.

"Huh," uttered Finn, raising one hand from her waist to scratch the back of his head. "Kinda weird."

"Mmhmm," Rachel murmured, unable to move or really speak. Putting her hand to her chest, she willed her heart to slow, closing her eyes and telling herself it was good that Noah was willing to be her friend.

Just her friend.


	3. HBIC

_Author's Note: Part three! Read and review, thanks! :D_

_**HBIC**_

_Day 62_

The day was hot. Really hot. Fanning herself with her hand, the girl watched as the other members on the squad struggled to perform the routine that she had come up with all on her own. She would've usually been practicing with them but Coach Sylvester had asked that she direct on that particular day, since the Coach had to miss due to mysterious circumstances which had not been divulged.

"Santana Lopez!" sang Brittany, appearing from out of nowhere, holding out a blue slushie while simultaneously sipping on her own pink one, a task which was usually quite difficult for the tall blonde.

"Thanks, Britt," Santana sighed, accepting the blue drink gratefully. "What the hell is with this heat?"

Tilting her head, Brittany thought for a long time, then thought some more. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed after ten minutes or so. "It's the summer so it's hot!" She gave one nod before continuing to slurp her drink.

"Right," said Santana, eyes on one girl who she envisioned faltering at any - "Lauren!" she screeched, along with some curses, as the slightly pudgy redhead messed up, throwing the whole routine. "Okay!" she shouted. "From the top!" She ignored the groans of the others on the squad, standing and stretching. She leveled her gaze at her teammates before shifting her line of sight to two males, also watching the routine. Grinning, she tugged at Britt's arm, pointing. "Britt, look who's gawking."

Spotting the boys, Brittany grinned. "They're not gawks. Let's go!"

Santana let out a short laugh as her friend hopped up and sprinted down the stairs, then across the field. Shaking her head, Santana followed at a much slower pace, stopping right in front of the guys. "Mike, Finn," she said.

Finn just grinned in what Santana guessed was his response, his eyes still on the other girls.

Mike would've replied but Brittany had engaged him a deep conversation about…it sounded like which Nick Jr. show was the best. Amused by Brittany's exuberant analysis of Dora the Explorer, Santana chuckled, glancing way up at Finn, to see that he was also smiling. "Brittany is…" Santana searched for the right word but couldn't seem to find one that fit her friend.

"Huh?" Tilting his head, Finn looked down at her, not having been aware of her presence at first. "Oh, hey Santana." As had become the norm, he practically shrunk away from her, as if he was afraid of her.

Rolling her eyes, Santana placed a hand on her hip. "Do you know how ridiculous you're being?"

"Um…no?" Taking another step back, Finn eyed her warily.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Attack you and have sex with you?" In a challenge of sorts, she took a step forward, holding in a laugh at the fearful expression on his face.

"N-no, not again." He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his head. "And shhh!" His eyes darted from side to side.

Narrowing her eyes, she regarded him for several long seconds before she said, her voice low, "You didn't consider it an attack the first time. More like a come and get it, Santana, if I remember correctly. And, shhh? Really, Finn? You should be telling everyone your first time was with Santana Lopez!"

Swallowing, Finn kicked at the ground. "I just always wanted my first time to be really special."

The words stung more than Santana would ever admit to anyone, even Brittany. "So sorry that it was such an awful experience."

Standing up straight, he stared at her for awhile, chewing on his bottom lip, before saying in a sigh, "It wasn't awful, Santana. Just…not what I thought it'd be."

"What did you think it'd be?" she retorted, almost immediately, giving voice to the first thing that popped into her head, something which she rarely did, something which she hated.

"Uh, well…I…" Frowning, he pursed his lips and scrunched his brow. "I don't really know. Just…different, I guess."

Taking a breath, Santana did that thing she hated again, her words coming out before she could stop them. "I know what you mean. My first time wasn't what I th -" Horrified, she placed a hand over her mouth. Had she really just shared personal information? The experience of her first time she had not revealed to a soul. What others knew as her "first" time was actually her second. And now Finn… Furrowing her brow, she raised her eyes to his, surprised at the depth of emotion she saw.

"Don't worry, San, I won't tell anyone."

Grateful but not one to admit such a feeling, Santana just stood, arms at her sides, trying to think of something to say. A kind word? She wrinkled her nose at the thought but was still considering it when Brittany wrapped her fingers around Santana's upper arm, pulling her away.

"Okay, bye!" called out Brittany over shoulder.

Confused, Santana ran with her. "What the hell, Britt?" Yanking her arm away, she spun around but the boys were already gone. Shrugging, Santana faced her friend, expecting an answer.

"It's just part of my…" Pausing, Brittany leaned closer and whispered, "Master plan."

Tilting her head, Santana opened her mouth to ask Brittany what Master Plan she was referring to but the other girl darted off before she could, rejoining the squad.

Deciding it was most likely just Britt being Britt, Santana followed behind, contemplating what had just transpired with Finn. She raised her shoulders then let them fall. Best not to think on it too much.

HBICs couldn't allow themselves moments of sentimentality, after all.


	4. Summer's Beginning and End

_Author's Note: Last installment! And done before the start of Glee S2, which I expect not to like...but whatever. I will continue to write Glee fanfic because it's fun! In this chapter, I added a little bit of Matt just for Jess. ;) ALSO, contains spoilers! You have been warned, lol._

_**Summer's Beginning and End**_

_Day 1_

"Brittany, will you go out with me?"

The question took Brittany off guard but she immediately knew how she wanted to answer. Mike Change was finally asking her out and of course she wanted to say yes, even though that meant she couldn't make out with other people anymore. But it would be worth it. Mike was her dream guy. Seriously. He had been in a lot of her dreams. And she did want to date him. But Santana had told her that it was important to play hard to get. At first, she had thought Santana meant something else entirely…but then she had figured it out. It was sort of like a game! A game with a really awesome prize at the end.

"No."

Crestfallen, Mike had blinked several times before nodding his understanding and leaving.

"Oh," she out loud to no one. "Just you wait, Mike Chang. We're going to play a game and it will be fun! Then comes the ending. I like the ending. I'm sure you will too." Sighing, she tilted her head, envisioning the ending. It was perfect.

_Day 20_

Finn had fallen asleep. Asleep! At their second scheduled glee club meeting. And Noah was late. Letting out a giant exhale, Rachel crossed the room, opening the door and turning her head left to right. No Noah.

Disappointed, Rachel dropped to the piano bench, watching as Finn's chest rose and fell, rose and fell, rose and fell. Twisting, she faced the piano, her fingers dropping onto the keys, playing out a melody. After a moment, she started to sing along, her voice rising in swells. Halfway through the song, she closed her eyes, feeling the words of the song, making it her own. When she was finished, a slow clap began. Thinking it was Finn, she opened her eyes and turned her head. But no, he was still fast asleep. Sort of unbelievable. But then…who?

A glance around the room revealed Noah, leaning against a wall, a sort of smirk on his face. "Didn't know you liked Coldplay, Berry. You feelin' Yellow 'bout something?"

A tad embarrassed, though uncertain as to why, Rachel shook her head. "No. Sometimes a song is just a song."

"Whatever you say," he replied, smirk dropped from his face. "So, what're we gonna sing?"

"Well…" Pausing, Rachel rifled through the papers in her purple folder. "I was thinking…" As Rachel rambled on, Finn stayed asleep, his chest continuing to go up as sucked in a breath and down as he let one out, unaware of those awake in the room with him, singing a soft duet together…

_Day 39_

Losing weight had been at the top of her list of priorities that summer yet she had still managed to eat five slices of pizza. Five whole slices! Artie seemed not to notice how much food she had consumed, however, as they easily conversed about this, that and everything. Well, except for Tina. Early into the evening, Quinn had sensed that _she_ was not someone he wanted to discuss. Somehow, romantic relationships did become a topic, though Artie glossed over something about a text break up, quickly moving on to ask her about Puck.

"Puck?" she sputtered, incredulously. "There is nothing happening between me and Puck. We tried that, because of the baby, and it utterly failed. He's sort of an idiot," she added as almost an afterthought, picking a slice of pepperoni of her sixth slice and placing it in her mouth.

"Oh. Yeah, he sort of is." Adjusting his glasses, Artie seemed poised to ask another question but, with a slight shake of his head, chose to remain silent.

"So, anyway, summer's like halfway over," Quinn commented, staring down at the slice of pizza on her plate. She wouldn't eat it…and yet, a minute later, she was picking it up and taking a bite.

"I know. It sort of sucks even though I haven't really done anything…"

"So?" Quinn asked, her mouth full of pizza. She finished chewing before completing her thought. "That's what summer is for, right? And, I mean, in a few years we won't be able to…take advantage or whatever."

Tilting his head, Artie gazed at her for a moment before giving a short nod. "Yeah. Exactly. You get it."

"Well, it's not -" Whatever Quinn was going to say was cut off by her cell phone, vibrating loudly in her purse. "It's my mom, sorry."

Smiling in understanding, Artie eyed the pizza, wondering where it had all gone, ignoring, as best as he could, Quinn's conversation with her mom. Soon, he heard the low clearing of her throat and glanced back at her.

"This has been fun but I have to go." Grabbing her purse, Quinn grinned at him. "We should do it again sometime."

He barely had a chance to call out "Yeah, we should," to her retreating back.

And then she was gone, leaving Artie with less than half a pizza and the promise of a possible new friendship.

_Day 51_

"You're late."

Frowning, Santana cast her gaze to her cell phone. "And? Not like you have anywhere to be but those stupid glee rehearsals and you don't really _have _to go to those. You choose to, for whatever twisted reason."

"None of your business," Puck replied, sitting on the edge of his bed. "You're always late. Like you're keeping me from her - from stuff."

Rolling her eyes, Santana sat down next to him, removing her socks and sneakers. "What is it with Rachel Berry that has got your boxers and Finn's in such a twist? I mean, I can maybe see Finn." She paused for a minute, a sort of vacant look on her face. "But you, Puck?" she continued. "I don't get it."

Grunting, Puck pulled his shirt off. "Nothing to get. Now are we gonna talk or do what we came here to do?" Swallowing, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, monitoring his face.

Smirking, she pulled him down. "Or, we're going to do," she purred.

Grinning, he placed his arms around her while she did what she did best.

Help him to forget everything else for awhile.

_Day 73_

He was standing on the edge of the field, which had become something of the norm for him. As usual, Santana spied him first, gesturing in his direction. And then Brittany, also in typical fashion, would bound to his side, putting her master plan into action. She had a feeling it was working. But that day, close to the end of summer, Tina was with him which was annoying but wouldn't hinder Brittany in her plan. Except that Brittany was sort of afraid of vampires and Tina was a vampire…

"Hi Mike!"

"Oh, Brittany, hey."

"Hi Brittany," said Tina, quietly.

Ignoring the shorter girl, Brittany bounced on her feet, a huge smile on her face as she stared into Mike's eyes. The time had come. "Mike, are you busy tomorrow night?" This was when he would say no, then she would ask him out and he would say yes. After that, it would be sort of like a fairy tale, filled with lots and lots of fairies.

"Uh, actually…yeah." He glanced sidelong at Tina, who was beaming. "Tina and I do."

Confused, Brittany tilted her head. "Why would you want to hang out with her?" Leaning forward, she continued in a softer voice, "She's a vampire, you know."

Staring sadly into her eyes, Mike slowly shook his head. "No. No, she's not. She's my…girlfriend."

The words were hard for her to comprehend at first but, when she finally did, they were leaving, hand in hand. Blinking back tears and swallowing the huge lump in her throat seemed impossible yet she knew she must. He was just a guy. There would be others. Yet she somehow knew that none of those guys would be like him.

Appearing like a ninja from out of nowhere was Matt, hugging her, because that's what Matt did best. "Britt Britt!"

Instead of responding joyfully, as was her normal behavior, Brittany just pressed her face into his shoulder, let out a loud sigh and held tighter to him.

_Day -1, otherwise known as the first day of school_

It was the first day of school and that meant the first meeting of glee club. It wasn't surprising that Rachel was exuberant, standing at the front of the room and chattering at a thousand miles a minute about her plans for the club, while Mr. Schuester, slightly off to the side, shook his head. She was ten minutes into her spiel when Puck and Santana entered, straightening their clothes. Everyone expected Rachel to reprimand them but she didn't, sending Puck a sort of sad smile instead, briefly bringing a hand up to the necklace she was wearing, her index finger tracing the F. It was almost as if she was reminding herself who she loved, who she was supposed to love. Frowning, she faltered only for a second in her speech before continuing with the highlights of how glee would succeed that year.

Santana made her way across the room to the seat Brittany had saved for her, ignoring everything Rachel was saying. The two girls smiled at each other but Santana noticed that there was a sadness in her usually exuberant friend's eyes. Frowning, Santana opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but was cut off when she noticed Matt missing. He loved glee… That's when she heard Rachel say,

"And with Matt's transfer to…"

Mike slumped in his seat, feeling miserable. His best friend's family had moved pretty much across the country, without much warning, and he was stuck in a relationship with a girl who wasn't…wasn't Brittany. Staring vacantly at Rachel, Brittany in the periphery of his vision, he felt Tina's clammy hand grasp his and attempted to grin but failed. His girlfriend, however, didn't seem to notice his discomfort, holding tighter to his hand. All he had to do was dump her but Mike didn't really want to hurt her. He let out a sigh and tried again to focus on Rachel.

It was like she was intent on torturing him, sitting there with Mike, gazing up at him all adoringly. Starting to feel sick, as if he might need to leave the room, he placed his hands on his wheels, all ready to head out when he felt a cool hand on his arm. He looked over, his eyes meeting Quinn's. Though they had seemed to really connect that one day, they hadn't hung out again. Their fledgling friendship seemed to have stalemated. Yet, when their eyes made contact, Artie knew that wasn't quite true. There was an understanding that existed between the two of them. At the same time, they smiled and Artie suddenly knew that the year wouldn't be that bad, even if Tina was dating Mike.

Finally, Rachel came to the conclusion, ending with a flourish, always one to favor dramatics. Only Finn, Mercedes and Kurt clapped, and even then, barely, as they had been the only three only half way listening. Beaming, Rachel took her seat next to Finn, taking his hand immediately.

Making his way to the front of the room, Mr. Schuester brought his hands together with a smack, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Guys," he said enthusiastically.

"I think it's going to be a really good year for glee club."

_End._


End file.
